The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1887-02-10
A Typical Case !
CHARACTERISTIC PICTURE FROM LIFE
In CINCINNATI!

A few nights ago while Francis Muir
ply was pleading with men to forsake
the path of sin and intemperance, in
Cincinnati, there was a scene which aptly
presented the reverse picture, over back
of Glendale, suburb of the great city.
An old man named Alex. Packer, who
had been drunk most of the time for
many years, and, as a Cincinnati paper
says, "has been dividing his time between
drinking whisky and stealing chickens
One evening. a few days ago-Sunday
evening it was, too-Packer was at home
with his family, when neighbor came
in, and soon proposed to the old topper
that they have drunk together. To this
of course Packer agreed, and Hoffman,
| the neighbor, went ont and returned with
quart bottle of whisky. This was soon
despatched, when Hoffman went out and
got another quart By the time this was
downed, both the old soakers were pretty
nearly gone. Yet they howled for more
whisky, and Hoffman finally staggered
away to doggery and procured enough
to nearly fill the bottle again. Mrs. Pack
er fought against his bringing this into
the house, but he came, and the two slob-
bered over the third quart of whisky, un-
til they were almost past moving. Hoff-
man managed to get home in some way.
About bedtime Mrs. Packer heard the
falling of heavy body in one of the two
rooms of the miserable shanty which con-
stitutes the home of the family. and went
to investigate. The old man was lying
helplessly drunk on the floor, and could
not be aroused. The woman spread a
blanket over the old brute and left him
until Monday morning, when she sought
to arouse him again. Failing in this, she
called her daughter, who knelt down be-
side the father and was about to shake
him, when she discovered that his head
was lying in pool of blood, and that he
was dead. Coroner Rendigs of Cincin-
natl was called and held an inquest. Re
markable as it may seem to one unac-
quainted with the methods of the dogge-
ry keepers, the Devils Agent who sold
these two old drunkards these three
quarts of whisky, swore positively at the
inquest that he had sold them but half
pint each time. The oath of such a fell
low, we may add, is worth about as much
as his character. The family swore that
three quarts were purchased, and that
Packer drank fully quart of it himself,
a young man who was present at the time,
helping out Hoffman, on his end of the
big drinking-match. While Gospel Tenn
perance is of course the true method, still
here is case which the method could
scarcely reach. The Devils Imp who
sent three quarts of whisky into that
miserable home, doubtless claims that he
is a public benefactor, andwas perhaps
the first to denounce old man Packer for
being drunkard.
Here was an old man passing the Sab
bath evening quietly in miserable home
made miserable by his drinking and
consequent crimes-and the Devils Agent
sends miserable victim into this home
to destroy even the last vestige of hope,
and send the poor hardened soul to perdi
ton, in order that the seller of the poi
son may sell three quarts of the stuff. Oh,
you say he did not know that old man
Packer was going to die? No, but he
must have known that both men were
beastly drunk, and that to sell them whis
ky under such circumstances made him
more contemplate than murderer. This
doggery keeper had doubtless poisoned
the soul of this miserable man for years,
destroying the body in which it dwelt,
and finally destroying the soul-for moth
ing in Scripture is palmer than its decla-
ration regarding the drunkard.
It is such work as this that the LegiS-
lature tells us we are compelled to sub
NIT to because the great, progressive
State of Ohio is under political control of
a little knot of beer jerkers and dstillers
in CINCINNATI 1t does seem to us that it
it is high time that the idea of the suprem-
acy of the Cincinnati bummers was for
ever stamped out of the political system
of this State.